Turkey to sell 48 Kaan fighter jets to Indonesia in major defence deal

Turkey will sell 48 fighter jets to Indonesia in the coming decade, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as Ankara pushes to build its defense industry and increase exports of military hardware.

 

The agreement to sell the Kaan fifth-generation planes, which Turkey is still developing, is a “record-breaking” military deal for the country, Erdogan said, without disclosing financial details. It “clearly reflects the progress and capabilities of our domestic and national defense industry,” he said.

 

A spokesperson for Indonesian defense ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. President Prabowo Subianto’s office said he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on fifth-generation jet procurement, without providing further details.

 

Amid a global rise in defense spending, driven in part by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Turkey boosted such expenditure by 12 per cent last year to $25 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. As well as the Kaan project, Erdogan wants Turkey to be a leader in the fields of drones and armored vehicles.

 

Turkey has been trying to develop Kaan jets — which flew for the first time last year — with some other countries including Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg has reported. Ankara has also asked for US permission to make GE Aerospace F110 engines, which power the twin-engined Kaan warplane.

 

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is diversifying military partnerships beyond its traditional allies in the West, exploring cooperation with countries such as Turkey and China as part of President Subianto’s push to strengthen the armed forces.

 

Turkey and Indonesia have deepened their military ties recently. In April, they said they will establish a joint venture between their strategic defense companies, partly to develop submarines.

 

The Kaan deal with Turkey comes shortly after Indonesia revealed that China had offered to sell it J-10 fighter jets — aircraft recently battle-tested in Pakistan’s clashes with India over Kashmir.